posted
We had a D&D convention this weekend that turned into a huge amount of drama. A lot of the issue seems to stem from the phrase "Open to the Public" since RPGA rules say your con must be. The con was only accepting pre-registered attendees, not walk ups.
Most of us interpreted that to mean since the registration was open to the public that it was like a fancy restaurant that only took reservations. It's open to anyone who follows the right procedure. Other folks are hollering that what occured didn't meet the legal definition of "Open to the Public".
With my limited google-fu, I ask Hatrack. What do you think? What does "Open tot he Public" mean to you? And does anyone happen to know the legal definition?
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posted
I am not aware of a specific legal definition but in my experience the expression is most often used when e.g. a university lecture is open to everyone instead of only students attending a certain course or program. If I read that a convention was open to the public I would expect to be able to attend by presenting myself at the venue and buy a ticket.
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I take "open to the public" to means that you don't have to have an invitation or be part of a special group. Whether you have to buy tickets or register ahead of time is a separate issue.
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quote:I take "open to the public" to means that you don't have to have an invitation or be part of a special group. Whether you have to buy tickets or register ahead of time is a separate issue.
I agree. However, I think it is reasonable to expect that information about whether you need to register ahead is displayed alongside any mention that an event is open to the public.
Actually, I read the original post sloppily the first time; now I see that the controversy is whether the RPGA rules allow the organizers to require advance registrations for an event that according to the rules is supposed to be open to the public. I can see both sides on this issue.
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posted
I used to work at a restaurant that was part of Vassar College. The sign in the front said "open to the public," which merely meant that you didn't have to be affiliated with Vassar to eat there.
Later on they changed their policy. It is still a restaurant, but it is no longer open to the public, which means that it only serves for college functions.
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Does RPGA have a definition? If not, they should be notified, not to get anyone in trouble, but simply to allow them to clarify their rules.
It seems to me that "open to the public" doesn't imply infinite space. So people can expect to be turned away from some events that are "opened to the public."
I'd be surprised if there's a "legal" definition of "open to the public," although there might be in some states. Even then, there might be a different definition in different circumstances. Since this is a private rule, it's not clear which such law would apply. I know that copyright law uses phrases such as "open to the public" in some circumstances, and it applies to situations far more restricted than what you described.
There are other uses of the phrase, too, in property condemnation and other contexts.
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posted
Thanks, Dag. I'm sure they will be clarifying their position after this weekend's drama.
One of the guys was ranting and raving about the situation not meeting the legal definition. I was pretty sure I'd never heard one.
The worst part is, the whole thing seems to have been totally blown out of proportion. They had room for one or two, but not the dozen or so wanting to come up together to play. There just wasn't space left.
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posted
Regardless of what they decide it means, I think it's important to see how many people feel strongly about what it should mean. I hope each convention will keep that in mind when planning space.
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